


The Log Of Chief Petty Officer McDonagh, USS Stonewall

by eternallamppost



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:53:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24864865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternallamppost/pseuds/eternallamppost
Summary: following the adventures of the USS Stonewall. only loosely star trek, original world and characters, but heavily inspired by next gen/ds9/Voyager and owes much to them.





	The Log Of Chief Petty Officer McDonagh, USS Stonewall

**Stardate 47260.9**

I've come to really love working the transporter. Those shifts are few and far between for me anymore, but I think it's my favorite post. Either you have a slow shift and you get to sit around all day and entertain yourself for seven hours, and on busy days you meet all kinds of people. You get the first look at everybody who comes through the door, so to speak. Plus, you build up a rapport with the whole ship. The bridge officers learn you can be relied on, and the friendlier crew and petty officers come to you for your first impression of folks. "He who works the transporter is friend to all." McDonagh, 2370.

I think it really enhances the feeling that the Stonewall is _my_ ship, you know? I know I'm not the only officer on the ship who feels that way, but I do the dirty work, you know? I'm the poor bastard down in the jeffries tubes when shit needs patched up. I'm the one who keeps the Stonewall ship-shape. Obviously she couldn't run without the Captain, or First Officer Phillips, but she couldn't run without me either.

I think I'm gonna ask the Captain if we can get a cat for the bridge. I might wait til Admiral Sprout disembarks, but something tells me she wouldn't mind. The Admiral is that kind of leader, y'know? You settle into her command real easy. 

Part of that might be her relationship with the Captain, whatever that is. I know they're old friends, but when you watch them together it seems like more than that. They're almost family.

It's nice, having the Admiral aboard. She smiles at you when she sees you in the hallway. She puts you at ease during normal duty, so you know you can rely on her in a crisis. 

Not that there's been reason to worry about crises on The Stonewall lately. Since we're on an Alpha Quadrant tour right now we're not in nearly as much hot water day to day. I get why the Captain loves to work on the edge of the map, so to speak, but its stressful for me. I like to know who my neighbors are.

Alpha Quadrant work tends to be much easier on the ship, and her crew. Plus there's the added bonus of getting to occasionally meet with the brass whenever somebody like Admiral Sprout needs ferried somewhere. 

I do miss mapping the Beta Quadrant though. The transwarp trips there and back are always a pain(I haaaaaaate cryosleep. gives me the willies) but you can't beat away missions in the Beta Quadrant. There's something about being the first humans to explore a planet. 

Last tour I was part of a first landing party on a planet with no sapient life. I was just there to monitor the science team's equipment and keep the shuttle in one piece, but I was there for the the bulk of the research. Doctor Humphreys took me aside one night and told me they'd discovered an edible species of fruit, and as thanks for my hard work with the shuttle I got to be the first to try it. 

We sat around the campfire and she presented me with three fruit, each a little smaller than a billiard ball. The flesh was semi translucent, like a grape, but the skin was thicker, and it was juicy. She gave me one at room temperature, one chilled, and one roasted. I tried the room temperature one first. I was surprised at how juicy it was- and the juice was this...almost pastel pink. Doctor Humphreys told me they were thinking of calling it an Erie fruit, after a lake one of the botanists grew up near back on Earth. The roasted Erie fruit was amazing. When you roast it the skin gets charred and sweet, and the flesh soaks up that juice rather than drying out. I ate the whole thing, and I had to go pick more later so the others could try them.

But the chilled Erie fruit is my favorite. You cut it in half and eat each half with a spoon. The flesh is so permeable that it breaks as it freezes, and the end result is like eating a frozen strawberry with the texture of a snow cone. I remember sitting there on a log looking up the Beta Quadrant stars and taking mankind's first bite of Chilled Erie Fruit from Ares five. pastel pink juice running down my chin. I felt like a king. 

I love the Alpha Quadrant, but you don't get that feeling here.

Needed on the bridge. Be back soon.


End file.
